Yesterday, my sunroof started going crazy when I tried to close it. It got stuck halfway and started making a horrible grinding noise which continued for a full 10 minutes, even after I removed the key from the ignition. I called the dealership and, of course, they won't cover it (warranty expired 2000 miles ago). I managed to get it "mostly" closed. Anyway, I read Cajun's write up on this forum on how to fix a stuck sunroof. I removed the headliner completely and, to my dismay, found two of the three moonroof motor mounting screws completely off with the third almost ready to fall off. I tried reinstalling the screws and aligning the teeth. Here's the problem. Currently, the moonroof is in the closed position with the driver's side in the tilt up mode and the passenger side in the closed mode. The motor, which is working fine, is confused because it can't decide whether the thing is open or closed, apparently. So my question is this... How do I get the left side completely closed (or the right side tilted open) so that the motor can operate it. Is there a way to manipulate the teeth for one side and not the other, so that I can realign it? Do I need to remove the entire structure from the roof? I like to do things myself and would rather not pay the dealership a few hundred dollars to do it. Any advice would be much appreciated. Thanks











These are the two sets of teeth that the motor turns to slide the moonroof. Apparently, they are not in synch.

 

Never mind. I figured it out. I just applied the teeth on the motor to one side and used them to lift the passenger side up (my wife operated the switch while I sat in the back seat). Once both sides of the moonroof were in tilt up position, I reinstalled the motor (making sure the motor was in that same mode) and everything worked fine.

Lessons learned:

1) This forum has a wealth of information that has saved me a ton of money over the last two and a half years.

2) It's inherently satisfying to fix something yourself, thereby robbing the dealership of the opportunity to make millions off of you.

3) You'd be surprised at what you can do if you just use some common sense and follow directions.